State aid rules regarding aid involved in optional transitional free allowances for the modernisation of electricity generation – unfeasible for beneficiaries?
- Category: Emissions trading
The important clarification regarding Article 10c of the Directive 2003/87/EC is that the market value of allowances allocated free of charge must not exceed the total costs for investments undertaken by the recipient of free allowances (at the level of company groups). If the total investment costs are lower than the market value of the allowances, the recipients of free allowances will be obliged to transfer the difference to a mechanism that will finance other investments eligible under the National Investment Plan.
The issue of State aid regime could be decisive for potential free allocations and consequently highly influential with respect to market price tendencies for emission allowances.
CCS-ready installation concept pursuant to draft Commission Communication Guidelines on Certain State Aid Measures in the Context of the Greenhouse Gas Emission Allowance Trading Scheme Post 2012
- Category: CCS
Draft Commission Communication sets out, inter alia, the long-awaited particulars for the regulatory State aid scheme for the construction of CCS-ready installations, and significantly modifies the definition of the notion ‘CCS-ready’ itself. The said modifications may be assessed as the ‘qualitative easing’ of the regulatory burden – in the face of relatively slow deployment of the new technology.
ACER publishes guidelines on REMIT Regulation but certain issues still require urgent reaction of the Agency
- Category: Energy market
The main body of the REMIT Regulation applies from 28 December 2011. So, practically, it is useful to precisely define what arrangements energy firms should have in place as of that date.
The newly published ACER guidelines on REMIT coincide with the release of the ‘CEER final advice on the regulatory oversight of energy exchanges, A CEER Conclusions Paper’. Perceived jointly, the considerations of the Union and the national energy regulators, lean towards the reflection what we find at the end of the regulatory direction started by REMIT. The problem particularly concerns vertically integrated undertakings.
The protection of the good faith acquirer of emission allowances and finality of transactions in the new Registry Regulation – do they cause traders feel more comfortable?
- Category: Emissions trading
New provisions of the registry regulation entered at last into force. They significantly reduce the risk of questioning the legal title to emission allowances transferred into the buyer account.
This protection was so far considerably weaker and the Union legal framework did not protect these transactions to the sufficient extent, which was reflected in legal problems originated in thefts of allowances from registries, which, in turn, subsequently shrank the liquidity of the EU ETS spot market.
The Regulation on the Union Registry (which also amended the provisions on registry rules applying already in the second trading period) will in that regard play a fundamental role with respect to the trading in emission allowances.
Europe-wide passport for wholesale trading in electricity and gas, MiFID passport or REMiT registration – a field for analysis for energy traders
- Category: Energy market
The thorough re-calibration of energy trading licensing regime is looming. Besides standard registration required by the REMIT Regulation, the wholesale energy market participants will have the option for choosing either Europe-wide passport for wholesale trading in electricity and gas or MiFID passport – depending on the projected extent of business activity.
Market participants remaining beyond the scope of MiFID, will have to, however, regularly and on an ongoing basis, monitor exemptions foreseen by this Directive (currently undergoing the revision under the so-called MiFID II and MiFIR procedures) and the character of contracts concluded on the market so that not to run the risk of a charges of providing financial services without proper authorisation.
Qualitative restrictions, CERs and ERUs banking and other modalities with respect to Kyoto units in the third trading period
- Category: Emissions trading
Recent communication from the European Commission contains invaluable directions for project developers, emission credits investors and, last but not least, installation’s operators.
Page 51 of 69